Lex Hall; 24/11/09; (2 Items)
Five months after federal Indigenous Affairs Minister Jenny Macklin promised to clean up the Alice Springs town camps, little has changed at Hoppy’s camp. You pass a pile of faeces as you make your way to the door of House 13 at Hoppy’s camp. Held ajar by a rock, the door opens to reveal a bleak snapshot of life in Alice Springs’ town camps, just metres from the centre of town. Inside, a baby lies motionless on a fetid polyester blanket. Flies swarm around its mouth; its nappy is full. On the adjoining mattress, another body stirs under a blanket. In the kitchen, shards of glass crunch underfoot. Packets of two-minute noodles dot the floor, which is slick with grime.
Findings expected on NT intervention
Yuko Narushima; 24/11/09
Welfare quarantining, alcohol bans and pornography restrictions will be retained in the Federal Government’s redesign of the Northern Territory intervention expected out today. The Indigenous Affairs Minister, Jenny Macklin, yesterday released a feedback report based on more than 500 consultations held in 73 affected communities. There was a mixed response. Children, the elderly and women were more supportive of contentious elements of the intervention that men said had shamed them as responsible and caring men. ”There’s been a broad range of views expressed but some common themes,” Ms Macklin said. ”The majority take the view that it has delivered benefits particularly to children and to the elderly, with more money being spent on food.”
See: http://www.smh.com.au/national/findings-expected-on-nt-intervention-20091123-j210.html
Tags: Aboriginal, Australia, health, Housing, Human Rights